health and safety guidelines for home care...

Health and Safety Guidelinesfor home care workers

Health and safety guidelines for home care workers

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Introduction

Home care workers can face considerable workrelated health and safety risks. Activities such as liftingand moving those receiving care, lone working as wellas their exposure to infections, violence and abuseand more general hazards, such as slips and tripsmean that it is essential that good health and safetypractices are in place.

The overwhelming majority of home care workers arewomen, half of whom work part-time and play anessential role in improving the quality of life forthousands of people including the sick, elderly anddisabled, those with learning difficulties and peoplesuffering from mental ill-health. This work involveslooking after adults and children in a wide variety ofsettings ranging from highly intensive residentialestablishments through to caring for clients in theirown homes.

Health and safety risks can be reduced in many areasbut this is only possible if employers’ make sure thatthey address the health and safety hazards faced bythis group of workers properly.

The aim of these guidelines is to provide goodpractice advice for UNISON safety representatives’and stewards working with members in the socialcare sector, such as home care and residential careservice.

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The scale of the problemHome care workers are relied on to carry out a widerange of different duties for their clients, and may notrecognise many of the potential dangers they face.

The duties of home care workers can include liftingand handling tasks, using a range of householdchemicals, using electrical equipment such asvacuum cleaners, cookers, microwave ovens andheaters etc. They may also administer or assist clientswith their medicines, shop for clients and do otherdomestic chores such as laundry.

As lone workers, home care workers can beparticularly vulnerable as they are isolated from otherworkers and cannot easily liaise with colleagues.Some home care workers such as those in residentialcare are based in static workplaces, while othersregularly work with different clients in their ownhomes. However, many of the health and safetyconcerns are the same.

Employers must ensure that policies and proceduresare in place to protect home carers while they are atwork by:

• Carrying out suitable risk assessments that takeaccount of the real risks faced by home careworkers

• Providing health and safety training and informationas well as refresher training so that care workersare confident in carrying out their duties

• Ensuring that a reporting system is set up thatencourages care workers to report and recordincidents and accidents

• Monitoring, evaluating and reviewing practices andprocedures on a regular basis.

Employers’ legal dutiesUnder the Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA)1974 and the Management of Health and Safety atWork Regulations (MHSW) 1999, employers have alegal duty to assess all risks to the health and safetyof employees. If the risk assessment shows that it isnot possible for the work to be done safely, then otherarrangements must be put in place.

Risk assessments are the responsibility of theemployer, but safety representatives have the legalright to be consulted on how they are carried out,what is included and any prevention measures thatare put in place following the assessment. Employersare also under a duty to provide:

• Information and training on lifting and handlingunder the Manual Handling Operations Regulations1992

• Suitable equipment and training in its use under theProvision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations1998 and the Lifting Operations and LiftingEquipment Regulations 1998

• Information and training on any chemicals usedunder the Control of Substances Hazardous toHealth Regulations (COSHH) 1999

• Training and information on fire risk assessmentsunder the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations1997 (as amended in 1999) and the Managementof Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

• Facilities for first aid under the Health and Safety(First Aid) Regulations 1981.

Employers must also report to the enforcingauthorities certain accidents suffered by employees,including incidences of violence, under the Reportingof Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous OccurrencesRegulations (RIDDOR) 1995.

This is separate from the duty on employers to recordall accidents in the accident book.

The domiciliary care standards and regulationsBuilding on the Care Standards Act 2000, theNational Minimum Standards for Domiciliary CareAgencies were introduced in April 2003 to form thebasis on which the National Care StandardsCommission determines whether agencies in Englandprovide personal care to the required standard. Theregulations outline 27 standards under five headingsand apply to all providers of homecare, whether in


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local authority voluntary/community sector or privateagency settings.

Health and safety is covered in standards 11-15, andlists all the relevant health and safety legislation. Theregulations specify that each agency has to have acomprehensive health and safety policy and writtenprocedures for health and safety management. Theseshould define individual and organisationresponsibilities for health and safety matters and riskassessments, as well as reporting and investigatingprocedures.

Branches should ensure that they work with theemployer on the implementation and monitoring ofthese procedures. In addition, a UNISON branchhealth and safety officer or safety representativeshould have a seat on the health and safetymanagement committee that deals with home care.Detailed information on the content of the health andsafety training is set out in a schedule to the standards.

Risk assessment—What your employer must doEmployers’ main risk assessment duties under the1999 Management of Health and Safety at WorkRegulations are to:

• Make a suitable and sufficient assessment of therisk to the health and safety of their staff, andothers who may be affected

• Identify the preventative and protective measuresneeded (as far as is reasonably practicable)

• Review the assessment if there is reason to believethat it is no longer valid

• Keep written records, where there are five or moreemployees, of the findings of the assessment andany groups of employees particularly at risk, forexample, home care workers who work on theirown

• Have arrangements for the effective planning,organisation, control, monitoring and review of thepreventative and protective measures

• Provide any health surveillance required

• Appoint ‘competent’ people to assist them

• Establish procedures to be followed in the event ofserious and imminent danger

• Provide health and safety information, instructionand training for all employees

• Consult with safety representatives.

The risk assessment must be wide ranging andshould include all potential risks to care workersincluding:

• Travelling to and from the home of the service user,particularly at night, in isolated areas and/or on foot

• Manual handling

• The working environment including outside thehome

• Control of hazardous substances

• Dealing with violent incidents or challengingbehaviour

• Dealing with pets, pests and infestation

• The handling of cash

• Procedures for administering and assisting clientswith their medication

• Procedures in place for reporting and recordingaccidents, incidents, new risks, faulty equipment orother concerns.

The risk assessment should also take account of risksassociated with the use of bleepers, pagers andmobile phones, and the carrying of medication,equipment or sums of money.

Branches should ensure that these issues are takeninto account when risk assessments are carried out.

Health and safety training and information Employers have legal duties to give health and safetyinformation and training to all employees. Trainingshould include all the risks that employees areexposed to and the precautions needed.

It is usual for all new staff to be given inductiontraining on joining the home care service. The trainingshould make clear the areas of activity home carersshould and should not undertake and should also giveguidance on appropriate footwear and clothing.Where the risk assessment identifies that suchclothing is required to protect staff from hazards theyshould be provided and maintained at no cost tomembers.

Induction programmes must also include health andsafety training and should cover:

• Manual handling

• Infection control

• Fire procedures

• First aid

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• Basic hygiene

• Food preparation, storage and hygiene

• Dealing with emergency situations

• The use of protective clothing and/or equipment.

UNISON safety representatives have the right to beconsulted on the type and level of health and safetytraining and information developed or offered tomembers.

In addition to the induction, training should be givento employees when:

• There is a transfer of job, a change in clients orchanges in responsibility

• New equipment is used, or existing use changed

• There are changes in work methods.

Employers must also provide information foremployees, that is easy to understand and which isrelevant. Information for employees who have difficultyin understanding or reading English should also beconsidered.

Some common hazardsA few of the common issues which are of concern toUNISON home care workers are discussed below.There are many others and safety representatives andstewards should make sure that issues which are ofparticular concern to home care workers are taken intoaccount when the risk assessments are carried out.

Passive smokingA total ban on smoking in almost every enclosedpublic place and workplace in England will come intoforce in the summer of 2007. However, theexemptions include premises where a person hastheir home or is living permanently or temporarilywhich means that social care workers may continueto be exposed to passive smoking while they are in aclient’s home or other residential accommodation.

This is not easy to resolve due to the conflict of oneindividuals right to take part in a legal activity in theirhome and another’s right not to be exposed topassive smoking. The situation may be all the moredifficult to resolve where a client or patient is sufferingfrom some form of psychological illness or dementia,and therefore less likely to reach a compromise. Thereis at present no HSE guidance on this point.

One solution proposed in the past was for theemployer to try to match employees who smoke with

smoking clients, or to those parts of residentialaccommodation where the residents are entitled tosmoke. However, whilst this may protect a non-smoker, it does still mean that an employer isexposing their staff who smoke to even higher levelsof tobacco smoke.

A more satisfactory approach, which has beenadopted by some employers is to ask the service usernot to smoke for one hour before a visit, nor duringthe visit, and allowing the worker to ventilate therooms they work in by opening the windows. It’s not aperfect solution and there may still be some exposurefrom residual smoke, however it’s a compromisewhich recognises that an individual should be allowedto take part in legal activity in their own home andrespect the health of a visiting worker.

Manual handlingManual handling is the most common cause of injuryat work and the social care sector is one of thehighest risk areas for back injuries. According to theHealth and Safety Executive around 50% of allaccidents reported in the sector relates to the helpingof people whose mobility is reduced by disability orlong-term illness.

In addition, a UNISON survey of homecare workerscarried out in 2001 showed that incidents of backpain are 10% higher for homecare workers than therest of the adult population. The survey also revealedthat younger workers aged under 34 have broadly thesame level of back pain as older workers.

Manual handling includes lifting, lowering, pushing,pulling and carrying loads. Care workers areparticularly at risk because of their exposure to workthat involves the physical handling of people receivingcare.

Home care workers are expected to help clients;

• To get into and out of bed

• Into and out of the bath

• When using the toilet

• Managing the stairs

• Moving around the home.

Poor working environment, badly planned workmethods and inadequate training increase the risk ofinjuries to workers.


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Employers’ dutyEmployers are required by law to prevent manualhandling injuries. The main law covering this is theManual Handling Operations Regulations. These arecovered in detail in UNISON’s guide to the ‘six pack’(see further information).

In brief, the regulations state that employers must dothe following:

• Avoid the need for hazardous manual handlingwork as far as is reasonably practicable

• Where handling cannot be avoided, identify andassess the risks

• Remove or reduce the risk of injury using the riskassessment as the basis for action

• Ensure loads are marked

• Provide staff with training and information

• Review and monitor control measures.

Manual handling tasks are common in the home caresetting. Where it is not possible to avoid these tasks,a suitable and sufficient risk assessment should becarried out. The risk assessment should be carriedout before the care worker begins working with aclient and should be reviewed on a regular basisespecially if incidents relating to manual handlingfrequently occur. It should take account of the

premises, the clients’ needs and the capabilities of thestaff. It is useful and sensible to include the manualhandling assessment in the care plan.

The Domiciliary Standards specify that two peoplefully trained in current safe handling techniques andthe equipment to be used are always involved in theprovision of care when the need is identified from themanual handling risk assessment.

The name and contact number of the organisationresponsible for providing and maintaining anyequipment under the Manual Handling Regulationsand Lifting Operations and Lifting EquipmentRegulations should also be recorded in the riskassessment.

In assessing manual handling risks to home careworkers employers should consider:

• Whether floors are uneven or slippery and includesteps

• Whether storage arrangements can be improved

• The size and layout of the clients home/ work area

• Type and size of equipment, materials andsubstances used

• Overalls, uniforms and other work clothing suppliede.g. can staff move easily when wearing them andis footwear suitable?

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• The type of training provided. Training in properlifting techniques is important, but must not be asubstitute for employers reducing the risks in thefirst place

• Workers, who may be pregnant, have a disability orhave a health problem.

Safety representatives can help to make the ManualHandling Regulations work by:

• Making sure employers assess all manual handlingtasks carried out by home care workers

• Checking that the employers policy on manualhandling includes home care workers

• Ensuring that the home care workers’ task, load,work method and work area are covered in theassessment and care plan

• Reporting any omissions in writing to management

• Ensuring that home care workers record and reportany health problems or injuries relating to liftingand/or manual handling hazards

• Making sure possible handling problems areconsidered in the care plan and before changes aremade to work methods, the clients home or beforenew equipment are introduced

• Ensuring that manual handling training is provided.Training should include:

– All manual handling situations likely to befaced by home care workers

– Any particular hazards they may face and theprecautions they should take

– How to carry out on- the- spot evaluations

– Who to contact for advice on specific manualhandling problems.

Case LawIn 2003 the High Court gave judgment in a caseinvolving lifting of people in care homes. This weighedup the responsibility of employers to protect staff frominjury through manual handling and their duties toclients under the Disability Discrimination Act andHuman Rights Act.

There has been some confusion over what thejudgement actually means and as a result someUNISON members have been asked by managementto lift an adult client alone. This is an incorrectinterpretation of the High Court ruling. No member of

staff should ever be asked to take the full weight ofanother adult and to do so is to put that worker atserious risk of back injury.

The court action arose because a local authority usedguidance issued by the Royal College of Nursing thatstated ‘Manual lifting of patients is eliminated in all butexceptional or life threatening situations’. This wasinterpreted as meaning that manual handling shouldnever be done, even by a group of staff. The courtinstead suggested that the local authority should havefollowed the guidance of the Health and SafetyExecutive ‘Handling Home Care: Achieving safe,efficient and positive outcomes for care workers andclients’.

UNISON has always taken the view that manualhandling should be avoided where possible. In somecases it is necessary, because of the individual needsof the client, for manual assistance to be given.However, no one person should ever take the fullweight of another adult person and manual liftingshould only be done where:

• A suitable number of staff are available

• A risk assessment has been done

• Staff have been given proper training

• No other reasonable alternative is available.

In deciding what form of lifting should be carried out,the views of the client should also be taken intoaccount.

This approach mirrors the view of the Health andSafety Executive in the guidance that was supportedby the High Court decision. This guidance givespractical advice on how to ensure that workers arenot put at risk and at the same time the rights of theclient are protected. It gives helpful case studies toillustrate how this can be done safely.

UNISON has supported the use of the Health andSafety Executive guidance within the Home CareService and branches with home care workers shouldensure that their employer obtain a copy of thebooklet. (See further information.)

Administering or assisting clients with medicinesIn general, only qualified staff, e.g. GP’s or communitynurses, should administer medicines. However, theduties of home care workers have changed toencompass nursing duties that can includeadministering some medication.


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UNISON is clear that this task should only be carriedout when adequate training and proper systems are inplace. There is no legal duty on non-medical staff toadminister medicine and home care workers shouldbe particularly wary of agreeing to do so where thetiming is crucial to the health of the client and sometechnical or medical knowledge is needed.

The domiciliary standards agree. Standard 10,regulation 14 states that staff should only provideassistance with taking medication or administeringmedication, or other health related tasks when it iswithin their competence and they have received anynecessary specialist training.

• This must be with the informed consent of theservice user

• Clearly requested on the care plan by the assessor

• With the agreement of the care or support workers’line manager.

InfectionsCare workers can be exposed to infections as a resultof direct contact with someone under their care whois infected or by cleaning up infected body fluids(such as blood containing hepatitis). It is importantthat precautions are taken at all times to reduce therisk of exposure. When dealing with blood or otherbodily fluids, strict procedures should be adopted tocontrol the possibility of infection.

Home care workers should be given training andinformation on the risk and the necessary precautionsthat should be taken. These precautions may include:

• Immediately clearing up and disinfecting after anyspillage

• The safe disposal or proper disinfection ofequipment, clothing etc. contaminated with bodilyfluids

• Coverage of any cuts, grazes and breaks in theskin with waterproof dressings

• Wearing protective clothing such as gloves, aprons,and eye and mouth protection where there is a riskof splashing.

Personal protective equipment Home care workers may be issued with personalprotective equipment (PPE) or clothing, eg gloves,overalls, non-slip shoes etc to protect them whilst atwork.

The Personal Protective Equipment at WorkRegulations say that protective clothing andequipment should be suitable for the risk and for thewearer, maintained and provided free of charge. Thelaw also states that personal protective equipment isa last resort that should only be used after othersolutions have been investigated and foundinappropriate. If protective clothing is issued, homecare workers should not be responsible for the cost ofbuying or cleaning it. This cost must be borne by theemployer. In addition, staff must be trained in the useof any PPE issued. Training must include details ofwhat to do if the PPE is not effective, dirty, damagedor poorly maintained.

Gloves It is common for home care workers to be issued withdisposable gloves to use when carrying out theirduties. In practice gloves can be a very useful piece ofsafety equipment. Unfortunately, many gloves are

inappropriate for their purpose, and some introducenew hazards such as allergic contact dermatitisand/or asthma.

Branches will need to ensure that gloves are:

• Issued to home care workers only as a last resortafter other control measures have been considered

• Suitable for their purpose

• The right size

• Avoided if they are powdered latex gloves orcontain high levels of free protein to avoid the riskof contact dermatitis or asthma. UNISON advice ongloves is available in an information sheet. (Seefurther information.)

Lone workingIn general, home care workers regularly work alone aspart of their normal day-to-day work. Working alonecan put such workers in a vulnerable positionparticularly if they are perceived to be carrying money,drugs or other equipment perceived as valuable.Other hazards that lone workers may face include:

• Accidents or emergencies arising out of their work

• Inadequate provision of rest, hygiene and welfarefacilities

• Violence from clients or members of the public

• Manual handling incidences.

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Employers’ legal dutiesThere is no general legal ban on working alone.However, employers should include lone working inthe risk assessments carried out under theManagement of Health and Safety at WorkRegulations 1999. If the risk assessment shows that itis not possible for the work to be done safely by alone worker, then other arrangements must be put inplace.

Safe system of workA good example of how a safe system of work can beachieved when working alone is set out in the Healthand Safety Commission’s (HSC) guidance tocommunity staff (see further information). It includesthe following:

• Before staff commence work in a client’s home,management should assess the premises, theclient’s needs, and the capabilities of staff assignedto the client

• Where necessary, management should install liftingand handling aids in clients’ homes on a loan basis.Clients and their families should be given advice onequipment and modifications to premises

• If a client refuses a hoist, a manager should visit theclient and explain why a hoist needs to be used.Continued refusal should result in nursing care ortransportation involving lifting being withdrawn

• The assessment should include a review of staffinglevels in the community where necessary. Morethan one staff member should be assigned tocertain manual handling tasks

• Staff should be given information and training thatis geared to the manual handling problems theyface in the community, including how to make onthe spot evaluations of the risks. They should begiven advance warning of particular hazards andinformation on what precautions must be taken

• Staff should be told who to contact for help when amanual handling problem arises.

Although this guidance is aimed at patient and clienthandling, the general principles of carrying out riskassessments before work begins; providingmechanical aids; reviewing staffing levels; providinginformation and training including how to make instantevaluations and providing back up help, applies to alllone working situations.


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DrivingSome members may have to spend long periodsof the time driving alone as part of their workactivities. The main risk for drivers working aloneis the possibility of breaking down in an isolatedarea. Employers expecting staff to use their ownvehicles could increase this risk. Low pay in thepublic sector could mean that some vehicles arepoorly maintained, and this should be taken intoaccount when risk assessments are carried out.

The Royal Society for the Prevention ofAccidents (RoSPA) have published a usefulguide to managing road risk, which includes aroad risk assessment (see further information).

Violence Violence at work is an increasing problem for manyUNISON members. However as home care workersoften work on their own they are potentially morevulnerable.

Employers should ensure that they assess the risk ofviolence and implement measures, which will preventor reduce this risk. The risk of violence to home careworkers who work alone should be no greater thanfor other workers, and alternative arrangements oradditional staff to deal with high risk situations shouldbe available.

In general, employers will need to look at all aspectsof the work activities including working practices andsystems of work, the area that home care workers arelikely to travel to and from and work in, staffing levels,the information and training provided and reportingprocedures.

They should also consider:

• Avoiding the need for lone working wheneverpossible

• Changing the way the job is carried out

• Improving information gathering and sharing aboutclients or their family with a history of violence

• Identifying visits which should not be carried out bya lone home care workers

• Ensuring that managers of home care workers havedetails of their itinerary at all times.

Employers should also ensure that written procedureson safe working practices are developed andimplemented.

UNISON and the HSE have produced detailedguidance on work-related violence (see furtherinformation).

CASE STUDYJan is a home care worker based in Gloucestershire. Sheuses a car to visit clients. It is her own vehicle and is nowover 10 years old. On two occasions in the last year the carhas broken down on country roads.

It is quite common within the home care service foremployees to have to use their own car for work purposes.Rarely is there any control over the condition of the car orwhether it is fit and safe for the purpose. In fact, given thelow pay of many home care workers, it is hardly surprisingthat a lot of the vehicles used are old and badly maintained.

Where the work involves travel outside urban areas, there isalways the possibility that the vehicle could break down ona rural road with no access to breakdown services, possiblyin bad weather or at night. This is particularly the case,where the employee covers a wide geographical area.However, the risk is not confined to rural areas. In urbanareas the vehicle could break down in a place where thereis the potential for violence.

The employer has a responsibility to ensure that the carused is suitable, even when the employees use their owncar. They should ask to see the MOT, insurance and licence.They should do a risk assessment and, if necessary, providemobile phones to allow employees to summon help if theybreakdown. The employer could also consider obtainingcover with one of the breakdown organisations.

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What else is needed?

Safety representative’s roleUnder the Safety Representatives and SafetyCommittees Regulations 1977 (1979 in NorthernIreland) (SRSC), UNISON’s safety representatives have alegal right to consult with management over safetyissues, represent members, inspect workplaces andinvestigate problems. They also have the right to receiveall relevant information from management, including riskassessments related to the work of home care workers.

By using these rights, safety representatives can helpto make the work of home care workers safer. Theymay also encourage home carers to become safetyrepresentatives.

Safety representatives can find out whether homecare workers are experiencing problems by talking tomembers on their regular workplace inspections andby carrying out surveys. You will need to explain thatUNISON is trying to gather information on the healthand safety concerns of home care workers and aregathering evidence of these concerns to present tothe employer. Surveys should be very simple and tothe point, as home care workers often work to tightdeadlines and may not feel able to spend largeamounts of time responding.

Keeping in touch with membersMake sure that you keep in touch with members whoare home carers.

Many home carers will work outside of the usual shiftpatterns and may work early mornings, evening shiftsas well as throughout the day. Many may not attendbranch meetings, visit the branch office regularly or atall. Special efforts may therefore be needed to ensurethat contact is made and maintained. Always reportback the results of any surveys and any action taken.Branches also have an important part to play inensuring that home care workers know who tocontact for advice or help and where to find them.Branch secretaries should also ensure that home careworkers are notified of and invited to attend all branchmeetings and events.

Further information on the role of a safety representativeis available in the UNISON health and safetyrepresentatives’ guide. (See further information.)

UNISON has also produced a leaflet encouragingmembers to take up the role of the safety representativeand an A4 poster to help with recruiting safetyrepresentatives. (See further information.)

The following checklist was taken from the HSE’sguidance for the health service on violence (seefurther information).

HOME VISITING: CHECKLIST FOR MANAGERS

Are your staff who visit:1 Fully trained in strategies for the prevention of

violence?

2 Briefed about the areas where they work?

3 Aware of attitudes, traits or mannerisms that mayannoy clients, etc?

4 Given all available information about the client from all relevant agencies?

Have they:5 Understood the importance of previewing cases?

6 Left an itinerary?

7 Made plans to keep in contact with colleagues?

8 The means to contact you – even when theswitchboard may not be in use?

9 Got your home telephone number (and you theirs)?

10 A sound grasp of your organisations’ preventivestrategy?

11 Authority to arrange an accompanied visit, securityescort or use of a taxi?

Do they:12 Carry forms for reporting incidents?

13 Appreciate the need for this procedure?

14 Use them?

15 Know your attitude to premature termination of interviews?

16 Know how to control and defuse potentially violentsituations?

17 Appreciate their responsibility for their own safety?

18 Understand your organisation’s provisions for theirsupport?


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Further advice and informationThe concerns dealt with in the previous pages areonly some of the many hazards faced by home careworkers. There are many others.

Whatever the issue, safety representatives will need toensure that employers address the health and safetyconcerns of this group of workers. Safetyrepresentatives will also want to ensure thatemployers include home care workers wheneverhealth and safety strategies or policies are discussedand developed. Focusing on the concerns of homecare workers may encourage them to take on the roleof safety representative, and may also help to attractpotential members.

UNISON has produced a number of publications thatsafety representatives can use to tackle any healthand safety problem faced by members. They areavailable free to UNISON members from theCommunications Department at UNISON, 1Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9AJ. Please quotethe stock number when ordering.

Stock no. Title

1351 Risk assessment guide (A4 booklet)

1660 The health and safety ‘six pack’. A guide tothe six pack set of health and safetyregulations (A4 booklet)

1682 UNISON members need health and safetyrepresentatives (A5 pamphlet)

1683 UNISON health and safety representativesguide (A5 booklet)

1982 Women’s Health and Safety (A5 booklet)

1793 Caring for cleaning staff. A guide for safetyrepresentative

1346 Violence at work. Guidelines for branches,stewards, and safety representatives (A4booklet)

848 Stress at work. Guidance for safetyrepresentatives (A5 booklet)

1057 Repetitive strain injury. Guidance for safetyrepresentatives (A5 booklet)

1281 Bullying at work. Guidance for safetyrepresentatives (A5 booklet)

Additional health and safety information sheets andguidance, including information on temperature,asthma, RSI, and dermatitis can be found on theUNISON website at www.unison.org.uk

The Health and Safety Executive has produced anumber of free information sheets aimed at employersof catering staff. These are available from HSE Books,PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 6FS. Tel:01787 881165 or from their website atwww.hse.gov.uk/hsehome.htm

AdviceIf you have any specific health and safety queries,your branch health and safety officer or branchsecretary may be able to help. If they are unable toanswer the query, they may pass the request to yourregional office or to the Health and Safety Unit athead office.

The Health and Safety Unit is at:

UNISON1 Mabledon PlaceLondon WC1H 9AJ

Tel: 020 7551 1156

Fax: 020 7551 1766

email: [email protected]

Your commentsUNISON welcomes comments on this booklet frombranch health and safety officers and safetyrepresentatives. Either write to or email the Health and Safety Unit at the above address.

HSE publicationsThe following are available free from HSE Books, POBox 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 6FS. Tel: 01787881165. Web site: www.hse.gov.uk/hsehome.htm

• Working alone in safety (INDG73) revised 1998.

• 5 Steps to Risk Assessment (IND163). A guide torisk assessment requirements.

A series of case studies on violence to lone workers,including one relating to home care workers can befound on the HSE website at:www.hse.gov.uk/violence/loneworkers.htm

The publication below are also available from HSEBooks, but they are priced items. You should try toget your employer to buy these, rather than usingbranch funds to do so.

• Handling Home Care (HSG225)

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Other publications• Managing Occupational Road Risk – The ROSPA

guide.

Available from: ROSPA, Edgbaston Park, 353 BristolRoad, Birmingham, B5 7ST. Tel: 0121 248 2000. Fax: 0121 248 2050. Priced: £20.00

UNISON1 Mabledon PlaceLondon WC1H 9AJ

Tel: 020 7551 1156

Fax: 020 7551 1766

Designed and produced by UNISON Communications. Published and printed by UNISON, 1 Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9AJ. www.unison.org.uk. CU/JUNE 2007/16385/Stock no 2560

health and safety guidelines for home care...

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